The pink paper allege that further contact between the 55-year-old and AdrianoGalliani has been made, and as recently as the weekend.

However, a barrier that continues to exist is Spalletti’s ongoing contractual dispute with Zenit St Petersburg.

The Russians removed the Coach from their bench in March, but still have him tied to a contract paying €4m a year and running to June 2015. It is seen that Zenit do not want to pay compensation to the tactician, should they release him from it early.